Minutes 05-12-2026-Budget Public Hearing

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11 Slide#20 Questions? ORANGE COUNTY lfH[JRC)I_INA 3. Public Comments A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Vice-Chair Fowler, to open the public hearing on the budget and capital investment plan. VOTE: UNANIMOUS PUBLIC COMMENTS: Vibeke Talley from the North Carolina Senior Tar Heel Legislature provided historical context on social work staffing at the senior centers. She described her experience working in aging transitions at the Department on Aging from 2000 to 2011, noting that during that period, social workers struggled to effectively help low-income older adults complete applications for food stamps and Medicaid. She credited Director Janice Tyler for arranging a shared social work arrangement with the Department of Social Services (DSS) in 2010, whereby two social worker positions were moved to DSS and shared with the Department on Aging to serve senior centers. She described the arrangement as streamlining the application process and dramatically improving the number of vulnerable older adults receiving benefits. She respectfully asked that there be no cuts to the shared DSS/DOA social workers at the senior centers. Gayane Chambless spoke as an advocate for youth education and mental health. She urged the Board to fund the Orange County Schools' request to increase teacher and staff supplements, noting that OCS had previously ranked among the top five districts in the state for teacher pay but no longer did. She acknowledged that while some residents were willing to pay higher taxes to support county needs, others could not afford to do so. She said voters agreed to take on tax increases for the school bond, but questioned whether the timing was right to proceed with projects such as relocating the Sheriff's Office, constructing a new behavioral crisis center, and building an EMS headquarters, suggesting those projects might wait until funding stabilizes. She requested the Board prioritize sustaining and retaining school staff by fully funding the OCS budget request, consistent with the county's stated strategic priorities. Kelly Suttles urged the Board to fully fund Orange County Schools' continuation budget, noting the County Manager's recommendation fell more than $712,000 short. She said that the continuation budget should be the floor, not the ceiling. She warned that the gap was roughly equivalent to 12 average teacher salaries. She expressed support for fully funding the continuation budget and advocating at the state level for ending the school voucher program, citing$533.6 million in public funds directed to private schools statewide in the current year, including more than $2.9 million to private schools in Orange County.